Across the Commonwealth, MLSC investments are enabling researchers to access cutting-edge equipment, scale their research, and translate discoveries into groundbreaking solutions. A shining example of these investments is the Spatial Technologies Unit (STU) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a Harvard Cancer Center Core Facility, which received $3.3 million through the MLSC’s Research Infrastructure program in 2021.
This MLSC-funded facility supports academic and industry investigators in spatial tissue profiling and single-cell studies across basic science, translational research, and clinical trial workflows. As a shared resource available to researchers across Massachusetts, under the direction of Dr. Ioannis Vlachos, Director of Spatial Technologies, BIDMC, and Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, the STU provides full-service spatial and single-cell capabilities, from tissue-to-data support and assay development to training and education for both academic and industry researchers.
By expanding access to advanced spatial technologies, the STU helps researchers execute studies more efficiently while reducing longstanding barriers such as high costs and limited throughput. These capabilities are critical to advancing discoveries and supporting commercialization across the Commonwealth.
Since receiving support from the MLSC, the STU has continued to grow its impact and was recently named a G4X™ Center of Excellence by Singular Genomics, recognizing its leadership in the research ecosystem. As stated in the designation by Singular Genomics, the STU has demonstrated “standard of excellence in G4X™ platform operation, experimental design, and scientific rigor”, “commitment to advancing best practices and expanding the impact of spatial multiomics”, and it is “a reference site for advanced spatial biology research and translational applications”.
The designation of the STU as a G4X™ Center of Excellence reflects its leading role in establishing and sharing best practices in spatial tissue profiling across the broader research community, further strengthening Massachusetts’ position as a global leader in life sciences innovation.
